Fond farewell to a 500-year-old

Not so much period as Plantagenet, this medieval terrace in the shadow of Warwick Castle is steeped in history, says Chris Arnot

Suzanne Knowles's parents paid the Earl of Warwick the princely sum of two shillings a week for the house she was born in, a one-up, one-down, medieval terrace. That's 10p, for the benefit of younger readers, or £5.20 a year. Fourteen years on, in 1959, the annual rent had risen sharply to £30. By then, however, the family had acquired the premises next door and converted the tiny houses into a single, two-bedroom property.

The same building, stuffed with period features, is now for sale at £375,000 - the first time it has been on the open market for more than 500 years. With some regrets, the Knowleses are leaving the cottage and views of Warwick Castle behind to spend more time at their other home in the Loire Valley.

Records show that part of 61, Bridge End was in existence at least as long ago as 1495, when Henry VII was on the throne and Edward Plantagenet held sway at Warwick Castle. Elements of the feudal system, which he would have taken for granted, survived until well after the Second World War. Suzanne's father never had to offer up a bale of hay or a sheep in return for living in an estate property for a peppercorn rent.

But in the 1940s, young Suzanne witnessed much forelock-tugging deference on those occasions when the Earl of the day, Charles Guy Greville, paid a visit to his estate manager, who lived in "the big house" across the road.

"One of our neighbours was the groom at the castle," she recalls with an affectionate smile. "And when he saw the Earl coming, he sprang out of his seat and rushed over to open the gate for him, doffing his cap in the process."

Her memories of the Earl are vague. But then sightings must have been, on the whole, comparatively rare.

He spent much of his time watching films on an enormous white screen which he had painted somewhere in the castle roofscape. Indeed, he had enjoyed an acting career before the war under the screen name of Michael Brooke. His Hollywood career had peaked in 1937, when he was given a role supporting Errol Flynn and David Niven in Dawn Patrol.

By 1959, he had decided to live in Switzerland. The Cold War was at freezing point and, although Warwick Castle had withstood invasions for centuries, Swiss homes offered the added precaution of a nuclear bunker. His son, Lord Brooke, took over the castle and grounds while the wider estate was to be disposed of at auction. For the first time, sitting tenants had the right to buy.

Between 40 and 50 cottages on Bridge End, together with adjoining gardens, fields and woodyards, went for a total of £78,500 - a figure which wouldn't buy you much more than a fitted kitchen today. Along with nearby Mill Street, this meandering lane has become the most prestigious address in Warwick. The old estate manager's house is now made up of two-bedroom apartments, which are going for between £300,000 and £400,000. One former cottage, much extended during the the 1960s, is on the market for £1 million.

Suzanne's parents bought their ancient home for £500. In 1962, its chocolate-box frontage was featured on the cover of Warwickshire and Worcestershire Life. "Mum was furious because they never asked permission, and they never gave her a free copy," recalls Suzanne, a former GP.

When her mother died in 1985, she moved back to her childhood home with her husband, Malcolm, who is fortuitously short in stature. Ground-floor beams and doorways here are low enough to inflict concussion on anyone over 5ft 7in who fails to duck at crucial moments. Ceilings in the bedrooms, on the other hand, are surprisingly high.

More than enough room here for the four-poster which the Knowleses installed. "I'm not sure if we'll be able to get it down the stairs again when we move," Suzanne muses. Certainly, it would be impossible to shift it from one bedroom to another. Between the two is a doorway not much more than 4ft high.

The castle is best viewed from outside the front door. In 1785, the much-travelled Lord Torrington described it as "the most perfect piece of castellated antiquity in the kingdom". The castle, which formed the backdrop to Suzanne's childhood and middle age, is now owned by Madam Tussaud's.

And the current Earl of Warwick? He was last heard of in Australia.

• 61, Bridge End is for sale through Malcolm Hawkesford (01926-403308)